The present invention relates to a method for forming a cable pattern in a tubular knitted fabric produced by front and back needle beds.
A standard flat knitting machine (2-bed) having front and back needle beds, or a flat knitting machine (4-bed) having another pair of needle beds in addition to the front and back needle beds of the flat knitting machine mentioned above, is known for knitting, for example, a tubular knitted fabric. Numerous needles are implanted in rows in the needle beds of the flat knitting machines. Knitting yarn is fed through a yarn feeding inlet from needles of the front needle bed to needles of the back needle bed, or vice versa, so as to go around these needles, thus allowing a tubular knitted fabric to be produced.
A typical knitting method for forming a cable pattern in such a tubular knitted fabric, which is an object of the present invention, will be explained.
The cable pattern is formed by crossing adjacent knitting stitches to switch them, so that this cable pattern is called a cross pattern or a cable pattern. Such a pattern is called a cable pattern of 1xc3x971, 2xc3x972, 3xc3x973 . . . , depending on the number of crossed knitting stitches.
In addition to cable patterns having the same number of mutually crossed knitting stitches as mentioned above, cable patterns of combinations of different numbers of crossed knitting stitches as 1xc3x972, 1xc3x973, 2xc3x973 . . . can also be obtained. Furthermore, two or more different combinations are possible; namely, whether a right or left knitting stitch, or a group of knitting stitches, is set on an upper side of crossing when crossing the right or left knitting stitch, or the group of knitting stitches.
For example, a method for knitting a 3xc3x973 cable pattern by using a 2-bed flat knitting machine previously proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-113853 is known. xc3x97FIG. 3 through FIG. 6 in the publication show an example in which a 3xc3x973 cable pattern is formed at a right edge of a sweater by using the 2-bed flat knitting machine.
A left group of knitting stitches {circle around (1)}{circle around (2)}{circle around (3)} that cross knitting needles H, I and J of a front needle bed is locked, while a group of knitting stitches {circle around (4)}{circle around (5)}{circle around (6)} on a right side of this crossing is hooked on knitting needles j, i and h of a back needle bed. The group of knitting stitches on the right side is located on an upper side by crossing, thereby forming the 3xc3x973 cable pattern. This crossing is accomplished primarily according to the following procedure.
After completing separate knitting in FIG. 4-2, knitting stitch {circle around (3)} is transferred to knitting needle G of the back needle bed in FIG. 4-3, and knitting stitch {circle around (2)} is transferred to knitting needle H of the back needle bed in FIG. 4xe2x80x944. Subsequently, knitting stitch {circle around (4)} is transferred to knitting needle h of the front needle bed in FIG. 4-5, knitting stitch {circle around (5)} is transferred to knitting needle i of the front needle bed in FIG. 5-1, and knitting stitch {circle around (6)} is transferred to knitting needle j of the front needle bed in FIG. 5-2.
Knitting stitch {circle around (1)} is transferred to knitting needle I of the back needle bed in FIG. 5-3, then knitting stitches {circle around (4)}{circle around (5)}{circle around (6)} are transferred to knitting needles hij of the back needle bed in FIG. 5-4 so as to arrange the knitting stitches in the order of {circle around (3)}{circle around (2)}{circle around (4)}{circle around (1)}{circle around (5 )}{circle around (6)} from the left. At this time, idle needles g and j exist between knitting stitches {circle around (3)} and {circle around (2)} and between knitting stitches {circle around (5)} and {circle around (6)}.
Subsequently, in FIG. 5xe2x80x945, the group of knitting stitches {circle around (4)}{circle around (5)}{circle around (6)} is transferred to knitting needles H, I and J of the front needle bed. In FIG. 6-1, the group of knitting stitches {circle around (1)}{circle around (2)}{circle around (3)} is transferred to the front needle bed so that these stitches are respectively positioned among knitting stitches {circle around (4)}{circle around (5)}{circle around (6)}. Thereafter, the group of knitting stitches {circle around (1)} {circle around (2)}{circle around (3)} is transferred to. the back needle bed in FIG. 6-2 to complete the crossing.
In the cable pattern formed according to the procedure described above, the knitting stitches transferred to the front and back needle beds are twisted. FIG. 8 illustrates a method in which a yarn feeding direction for the knitting stitches to be transferred is reversed to form pre-twisted knitting stitches, then the pre-twisted stitches are untwisted during a following stitch transfer step.
The method described in the above publication has been posing a problem in that each knitting stitch of a crossing group of knitting stitches is moved by jumping over another group of knitting stitches, thus requiring much labor with consequent low productivity.
Moreover, the tubular knitted fabric includes ribbed knit or the like. Hence, for a so-called xe2x80x9cskipped needlexe2x80x9d mode, in which every other knitting needle of a needle bed is used, crossing causes a moving distance of knitting stitches that jump over another group of knitting stitches to become long. This has been presenting a problem in that yarn easily breaks, thereby preventing a knitting speed from being increased.
Furthermore, as a number of crossing knitting stitches increases, it becomes difficult to secure idle needles for depositing knitting stitches.
The present invention has been proposed in view of the problems described above, and it is an object of the invention to make it possible to provide a method for knitting a cable pattern into a tubular knitted fabric with high productivity.
To fulfill the above object, a method for knitting a cable pattern into a tubular knitted fabric in accordance with the present invention is a method for knitting a cable pattern into a tubular knitted fabric so as to form a cable pattern in a fabric knitted into a tubular shape by using a flat knitting machine equipped with at least front and back needle beds, wherein one group of knitting stitches, from among groups of knitting stitches to be crossed in a knitted fabric portion extending over knitting needles of both needle beds, is transferred to another group of knitting stitches, beginning with a knitting stitch at an edge thereof so as to arrange these two groups of knitting stitches at an edge of a knitting portion of the tubular knitted fabric on either the front or the back needle bed. Both groups of arranged knitting stitches are transferred to the other needle bed, and cross one another when they are transferred from the other needle bed back to the one needle bed, and the group of knitting stitches on an inner edge of these two crossed groups of knitting stitches is moved back to the other needle bed, beginning with knitting stitches on an edge thereof so as to knit the cable pattern on a side edge of the tubular knitted fabric.
Next, a tubular knitted fabric is produced in a state wherein the groups of knitting stitches to be crossed have been arranged at an end portion of either the front or back needle bed. Both groups of the arranged knitting stitches are transferred to the other needle bed and crossed when they are transferred from the other needle bed back to the one needle bed, and the group of knitting stitches on an inner edge of these two crossed groups of knitting stitches is moved back to the other needle bed, beginning with a knitting stitch on an edge thereof so as to further knit the tubular knit fabric.